Pastel Geraniums Hanging Out

I posted a photo of geraniums along with other photos in the Southwest Forum monthly challenge on wetcanvas.  In that challenge we paint from photos provided by artists and this month was my turn.  I need to paint to post on the challenge so decided these geraniums could do double duty.

Enid Wood's class on monday was about power.  The softer pastel sticks provide power over the harder pastels and under painting.  She suggests a mark on your hand to test for softness.   Heavier mark on your hand makes a power pastel.

I wiped off the apple, banana and pear painting with heavy lines to use the Pastelbord again.  This gave me a muted colored surface on what had been a white surface as I recall.

 

The board looked like it had even been used before the fruit.  I put on a little red, green, yellow and purple, wet that down and let it drip and dry.  Sometimes I will leave the drips, especially in a landscape.

In class I developed the start with hard pastels.  I did not take a photo as planned.  I get so into what I'm doing I forget about the camera.  The photo I worked from had a couple of cans hanging on a post and some dry red chile.  I might do another painting to show that and the umbrellas in the back at Orlando's Restaurant in Taos, New Mexico.  I missed going there the last two summers.  

OK, back to painting.  I had fun with this.  I muted the yellow centers after I took the photo but all in all I like the power points of bright red and light on the can.  I added the buds to make a diagonal as the painting was pretty much round and vertical.  The buds aren't quite as bright in real life.

Hanging Out
Pastel on Pastelbord, 8 x 10 inches

I hope to get this posted and send my email reminders.  It is rainy, dark and gloomy.  Rain puts out our sattelite internet at times.  It was off earlier, but on for the moment so I will sign off and send this on the way.

Thanks to Enid for her class.  I don't think I can make the class next Monday.  We go to class on Zoom.  I really need to fix a place to put up my phone to take a video of my work.  Our regular internet that I use on the computer is so, so.  The cellular data on the phone is less restrictive .  Anyway, one of these days I will get that organized.

I saw a demo by Enid on the Pastel Society of New Mexico on Vimeo.  When I was watching that I saw one by Tom Christopher.  Lou Baggett (Bag Blog) and I went to a workshop with Tom a few years ago in Eureka Springs, Arkansas.  It was fun.  He puts his surface on the wall so it is upright and paints.  His demo shows how he makes the surface .. a bit complicated, but the results are amazing.  

Check out their videos (about an hour long for a Pastel meeting)

Here is Enid's painting icebergs.  She has some beautiful ones for sale.

https://vimeo.com/577252993

Here is Tom Christopher's forest scene:

https://vimeo.com/542790296

That reminds me, at Tom's workshop he was painting on Colourfix Sanded paper by ArtSpectrum.  I bought his demo.  When we got home I ordered a frame and the painting is in a flat drawer in my art work table still unframed.  It is big, about 20 x 27 and I couldn't decide where to hang it and so it sits.....

Here are some posts here on my blog about Tom Christopher's workshop and much more.  Ha.  I'm pretty wordy you know.

https://jocastilloartblog.blogspot.com/search?q=tom+christopher